I've sold stuff at GC and they always make a copy of my DL, get my fingerprints and check the serial numbers with police reports of stolen items. You'd think the Lynwood GC would have obtained that info before putting your amplifiers up for sale.

bitflipper
 
So all the ducks are in a row, now it's up to the cops to do something. I don't have a high degree of confidence. 
 

I hope this is a situation that it will involve the PD to act according to evidence, and not hoping for a "bigger fish" to catch instead. 

Did you contact PD in the city where they were sold, or just the police in your own town? There's nothing stopping you from filing a report in that city with out of town PD. They'll be interested that someone is traveling into their city to commit crime, since theft is always linked to other crimes. Also, PD might be not telling you much because of liability. If they give you a scrap of info, and you retaliate, it's lawsuits for everyone. Definitely talk to the other PD and file a report. It'll force the two to work together.

So FYI you don't have to buy back your stuff, if you can prove it is yours. They can't use the "but we paid for it" defense. There was a time when pawn shops could pull that but no longer. If they buy stolen goods and the owner comes for them, they are out the money.
 
With regards to cloud backups you can do it securely pretty easy: Just use encryption. You encrypt the data locally, with a key you don't share with the service. That way they can't get at your data, even if they want to. Of course that means you need to protect the key because if you lose it, backup is useless, but it works well. You get the benefit of data housed in a data center, but maintain control over it.
 
Backblaze has that ability integrated in to their backup client. The security is good enough that my friend who is a computer forensics expert uses it to back up his data. If you are more paranoid, you can encrypt it with a separate program, then upload the container. VeraCrypt would be a good choice for such a thing.

This is good news Dave.
 
The wheels of justice turn slowly.... just remember that.  Be patient.... but be persistent as well.   Yep.... I know you want the gear back and I know you want to see the perps in a federal super max with bread and water rations, but things take time.
 
I'll bet GC does everything they need to and more to be accommodating to you. They do not want the reputation getting around that they buy stolen gear. So be slow to use online retaliatory measures, in other words, keep them as friends on your team and don't burn the bridges just yet. There will be plenty of time to do that later if it is even necessary. It seems that they are interested in helping you.
 
Visit the store and see if there are cameras in the store. If there are, have them save that section of video of the perp coming in. Remember, only one person has to slap ID on the counter.  The actual thief could have been standing right there too.... the video will tell if that's the case.   Time is critical to get that video archived because 99% of all video systems these days are hard drive based and WILL overwrite the old data in a matter of time.   Depending on size of the HD and how they have the system configured, it could be a few days to a few weeks or longer.  So get that video off that machine.   They can email it to the police as well as archive it on the machine itself.
 
I'm pretty sure the local PD is in touch with the PD in your town and already working together.... they will visit the seller, bring him to the station for questioning,  and especially if they have video, likely get a confession and a plea deal, where the guy gets probation or 30 days in exchange for the name of the thief.  Remember, the seller, if he's not the thief, is not the guy who broke in and stole the gear. He's a (patsy) guy looking to make a buck but knowing he was selling stolen gear.  Not too likely he is willing to risk going to prison for a few hundred bucks.  He'll be willing to give up the name.  Then again, it might not have been the neighbor, and the thief is a complete beginner and actually stole it and sold it himself and gave his ID to the store.  Those kinds of folks don't often think things through very well.  He could have seen you at a gig, did some research and found out where you live.... heck he could have even talked with you at the gig about your gear.  The guy who stole my SG from my house (the second time it was stolen) knew me and had been in my house with some friends of his who had reason to visit.  Heck, he even played the guitar setting on my couch and we talked about the guitar and music. Several months later, he broke in and stole it.  I got it back the next day because he was seen by a neighbor.
 
Just let things roll under the guidance of the (now) 2 police departments..... they are making progress and have a name. Just keep in touch and keep them focused.

Jesse: thanks for the info. Makes sense that if I encrypted everything locally I could then store the data anywhere with reasonable confidence. I guess when I think about online storage I tend to picture DropBox, which conveniently integrates right into the local file system but doesn't encrypt anything.
 
It would indeed be interesting to see the store's security footage. But it's unlikely I ever will.
 
Years ago, my son's debit card was stolen from his bedroom. We knew it had to be one of his friends. Within hours we got a call from Sears security saying the card had just been used to buy stereo equipment. Great, I thought, now we can identify who stole it and at least ban that person from my home. No such luck. The video was given to the local PD and never seen again. When we inquired, they could not tell us what happened to it. We were never invited in to view it, and no arrest was ever made. You'd think Sears would care. You'd think the bank would care. You'd think the police would care. None did.

bitflipper
 
 
 
Years ago, my son's debit card was stolen from his bedroom. We knew it had to be one of his friends. Within hours we got a call from Sears security saying the card had just been used to buy stereo equipment. Great, I thought, now we can identify who stole it and at least ban that person from my home. No such luck. The video was given to the local PD and never seen again. When we inquired, they could not tell us what happened to it. We were never invited in to view it, and no arrest was ever made. You'd think Sears would care. You'd think the bank would care. You'd think the police would care. None did.

A few years back my wife's handbag was stolen. Thief drove 30 miles to the nearest town and somehow managed to draw a substantial amount of cash from one of her credit cards. The guy was on CCTV at the ATM, but neither the police nor the bank were interested in following it up. Credit card company accused my wife of colluding with the thief and giving him the PIN for her CC. We fought it and got reimbursed eventually, but stuff like that does add to one's cynicism.

Bit maybe it was TL;DR but you did register the serial numbers  with the manufacturers to prove its yours?
 
I apologize if this was broached earlier, but one more piece for you , GC might not like the publicity of fencing stolen gear, you might want to reach out above the local store and suggest social media publishing on a wide scale to bring to light their implication in this theft
 
damn isnt their a lawyer out there who would love to sue a BIG corporation ?

It may be weird, but I keep returning to this thread to see if there's been an update just like I'm reading a detective novel!  LOL.
 
As soon as I saw that SOMETHING had shown up I started feeling optimistic for a happy ending. 

$95 IS a steal, considering that model goes for $800 new. I paid $400 for a used one exactly like it (which later died and now sits on a shelf in case I ever need some footswitches).
 
But mine's a different model, a VoiceLive Touch. Not a stompbox, but the one that mounts on your mic stand.
 

 

Here's some proof that thieves really are stupid enough to offload gear on Craigslist. Look at this haul in KY. I mean $250 for the lot? LOL!

http://lexington.craigsli..org/msg/5598206544.html

sharke
Here's some proof that thieves really are stupid enough to offload gear on Craigslist. Look at this haul in KY. I mean $250 for the lot? LOL!

http://lexington.craigsli..org/msg/5598206544.html

Ya, one owner. Not sure who that owner is.

 
I called Guitar Center today to ask for the case number from the Lynnwood PD. That's how I phrased it, anyway. What I really meant was "you DID report this, right?". Well, they hadn't.
 
But just as I was beginning to think GC was as incompetent as the police, I got a call from my business partner. He had a contact in yet another neighboring suburb's police department, who offered to make an unofficial inquiry on my behalf, saying he knew some good people at my local PD.
 
Through him, I learned that my PD had been in contact with GC, and that GC had also acquired two keyboards the same day as the amps. A young kid had brought in the amps, an adult had brought in the keyboards separately. Both are from Stanwood, about 20 minutes away from me. He also said the case had not yet been referred to a detective (other than me), which is why there'd been no callbacks, but now it had been assigned and I should expect a call tomorrow.
 
GC has not told me anything, of course. I have to assume this ain't their first rodeo and they know how to handle it.
 
Now my worst-case scenario may be playing out: I get my gear back, likely damaged, and have to reimburse the insurance company. I'll have added $6,000 to my credit card balance, plus spent another grand for the steel door, plus locks and alarms. This burglary could end up costing me a great deal of money. (But hey, it's mostly tax-deductible!)
 
So despite the "good" news, it may still be awhile before I'm back in the recording game again.
 

Bat already wrote it for me: http://forum.cakewalk.com/Thief-m3412137.aspx